laudanum
Americannoun
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a tincture of opium.
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Obsolete. any preparation in which opium is the chief ingredient.
noun
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a tincture of opium
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(formerly) any medicine of which opium was the main ingredient
Etymology
Origin of laudanum
1595–1605; originally Medieval Latin variant of ladanum; arbitrarily used by Paracelsus to name a remedy based on opium
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Blame "Miss Scarlet &The Duke" for that musing, a six-part throwback to the pre-"Sherlock"-era of "Masterpiece" when Victorian mysteries could coast on politeness, good tailoring and eloquent conversations about laudanum.
From Salon
Obviously, many people will find this state of thoughtlessness the very dose of laudanum they need in a state of national anxiety.
From Los Angeles Times
Filled with suggestions and advice for new mothers, Medical Discourses includes warnings against giving children laudanum for coughs.
From Scientific American
After the shows, people would line up to buy elixirs that often contained little more than caffeine, laudanum and 40-proof alcohol.
From Seattle Times
And laudanum, another staple of Victorian medicine, was tincture of opium containing morphine and codeine.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
